X-23: New Life
by ThePaintworks
Summary: It's 2031, nearly two years after the events of Logan. Laura, a young mutant girl with the abilities of The Wolverine, is currently living with her foster father, a man by the name of Daniel, a man appointed to protect her. After moving to a small town in Illinois, their relationship will be tested as Laura experiences the ever growing need to be more independent in her new life.
1. Chapter One: Settling In

He pulled the hand-break before pulling the keys out of the ignition, so that the car wouldn't roll back down the driveway when he deactivated the engine. The headlights at the front of Daniel's old Jeep Wrangler faded, leaving only darkness surrounding the house in front of him. His new house, their new house.

He quickly checked his phone, 7:23 PM, Saturday March 17. They'd made good progress getting here, but the moving van with all of their stuff in it wouldn't be there until at least Nine AM the next morning. Tonight, it would be sleeping bags and takeout meals for the both of them. When the movers had been the next day, he'd have to go to the store and get something to cook for the both of them, if she had one more fast food burger or Indian curry, she'd kill him, probably literally with the temper on her.

The girl in question was currently asleep with her head against the window, seatbelt still fastened and her earbuds in her ears. She snoozed gently as Daniel could barely make out the pop music blaring through the earbuds. He took a risk, he knew the moment he switched off the music player in her lap that she would wake up and possibly gut him, but he did it anyway. Pulling the earphone jack out of the old IPod, the music automatically stopped and as expected, the kid's eyes flickered open.

Instead of the usual scowl he had grown used to in the past year or so, she calmly yawned as she looked over at him. "Estaba escuchando eso dick" she stated in calm and exhausted Spanish. "C'mon Kid, English please?" Daniel's accent was light Texan, being formerly a resident of Austin until he was 19 years old. He left that city when he joined the US Army in 2014, but that was a long time ago.

The little girl rolled her eyes as she unbuckled her seatbelt "What's the point of me living with you if you aren't even going to learn my own language?" She asked him, clearly annoyed.

"I'm pretty sure it takes a little longer than a year to learn Spanish, Comprende?" She didn't take this very well, as usual "Was it easy for me to learn English? It wasn't my choice, you have one, comprende?" She mockingly threw his pronunciation of the word back at him, but he could only smile at her expected ferocity "Touché, now c'mon, let's get our shit together and get something to eat. I'm starving."

He opened the door to his Jeep, and stepped out. After closing it, he moved to the back of the vehicle and opened up the rear passenger door. He noticed the kid climbing out of the vehicle as well, her smaller size making it slightly harder for her. He suddenly remembered something important "Hey Laura, grab the door key from the glove compartment, would ya?" She wordlessly obeyed and grabbed the keys. Daniel grabbed a large box with 'Las cosas de Laura' written across it. She had cello-taped it shut, obviously she didn't want anyone seeing her pink unicorn that she oh so adored and cuddled at night, least of all people Daniel.

He spotted the little brunette struggling with the key in the door, jiggling it. He heard her swear in Spanish, he recognised it, but couldn't be bothered to call her out on her bad language. "You know, if the key don't work then you just use one of your pretty little kitty claws to pick the lock, huh?" He called over to her as he lifted the box out of the back of the Jeep. She turned around at him with murder in her eyes "you want one up your ass?" Daniel chuckled, he knew she was joking, but he could also tell that he'd struck a nerve. It wasn't difficult to piss her off. "How about you take this heavy duty box of yours and let me handle the door?" Laura sighed and headed over to him, abandoning the key.

The box was pretty heavy, Daniel noticed that straight away. Must be filled with her toys, he guessed. As he handed her the box, he noticed she had not problem taking it with one hand and holding it against her side. "Alright muscles, let's see if we can't get this door open" for the first time in over two hours, Daniel saw her crack a small smile.

After a few minutes and multiple cuss words later, Daniel finally got the door open. "Guess that's one thing I need to fix, the locks don't work for shit" he said as they unloaded the remainder of their gear. He closed his Jeep and locked it, testing the handle to make sure it wouldn't open. He followed Laura into the house and smiled at their new home. It was two stories, with a living room and kitchen connected to each other. The kitchen had room for one table in it, and upstairs there were two bedrooms and one bathroom, as well as a small attic. It wasn't anything special but it was home for now. He noticed Laura was busy unpacking boxes of cutlery and and plates onto the kitchen counter.

"Alright kid, listen I know I said I'd make you something real when we got here, but it's nearly eight o' clock, and we're both pretty worn out, am I right? So what say we have takeout tonight, but tomorrow I promise we'll have something good. That ok?" He didn't even need to look at her to detect the disappointment on her face. He placed a box onto the counter, and a thought occurred to him. Turning to the small figure with her back to him, he made his voice as convincing as possible. "What say I do you favorite dish tomorrow huh? Meatballs?" He drew out the last word in a way that would seduce a lion. He knew it was working when she slowly turned to look at him with a small smirk on her face. He had her.

"But hey, I mean we could just not eat anything at all and just have something else tomorrow night...your choice" unable to contain her excitement any longer, she broke out into a huge grin. "With Parmesan on the top, Sí?" He couldn't help but chuckle at he little tyke's sudden enthusiasm. "Yeah, sure with the cheese on top. So takeout tonight, and tomorrow I make you the meatballs? Got a deal?" Laura smiled a large toothy grin "Sí, yes, yes, deal!" She was suddenly very bubbly. "Alright, shake on it then."

Daniel held out his hand and she reached over and shook it. He noticed how she squeezed his hand a little tighter than expected "no breaking your promise now" she said with a glare. Daniel huffed, he knew she'd never hurt him, but he couldn't be doing with the world of shit he'd be in if he lied to her. Daniel had lied to the girl before, but it's not like he didn't have reason. Raising a Mutant wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

"Yeah yeah, I promise I'll make you the damn meatballs, but for now, be a doll and go get me my phone, it's over there" he pointed to where he had left it by the door, he would need it to place an order to any local takeout restaurant. "I'm thinking pizza tonight, little old Italian weekend, pizza tonight and spaghetti tomorrow, sound good?" He laughed at his own joke, but Laura only shrugged her shoulders. Right now she was simply tired, and couldn't care less what she ate before bed. "Whatever, just no peppers, hate that crap" she remarked. "No peppers, got it" Daniel searched for any Pizza places in his local area.

The two had moved to the small town of Hillridge, Illinois from Arizona. The journey had been long, tiring and above all, boring. Daniel knew he wasn't the best company on long haul road trips, but then again, neither was his own present company. Laura wasn't his daughter, but he tried to make his guardianship over her enjoyable and less hostile and for the most part, it seemed to be working. And yet still, they often argued, and sometimes Laura would let her anger get the better of her. One particular incident occurred a short while back in the car, and the seats had to be replaced since they were slashed beyond repair. Nobody but himself and a few others knew it, but Laura was a Mutant, born in a lab from an unknown mother and the DNA of the deceased Mutant and former X-Man James "Logan" Howlett, better known as The Wolverine.

Laura, like her 'father' had Adamantium bonded to her skeleton, however it was only grafted onto her claws, which would retract from her knuckles on both hands and one single claw from a space on both feet. She was stronger than possible for someone of her age, and like Logan before her, had a healing factor that prevented her from certain death. But Laura, despite being a dangerous killer, was still just a child at heart and Daniel could see this. He knew she required the proper guidance in the world that she had been neglected of for many years. And Daniel tried his hardest to give her that taste of a normal, average life.

Didn't stop her from being an absolute little shit whenever she felt like it, however. But whenever she let herself snap, she was always sorry afterwards, and so far, she had never hurt him. The pair had been living with each other for around a year now, ever since they had left the sanctuary for the big wide world, so that Laura may have some hope of living the normal life of a twelve year old. She was pushing thirteen, and already the stereotypical bratty behaviour was starting to break through her usual quiet and calm exterior. He remembered his grandfather used to tell him what it was like to raise his mother, and therefore he dreaded what was to come.

Daniel found a pizza place near the centre of town, and they delivered. He ordered himself pepperoni and for Laura a plain cheese. He knew she wasn't that fussy. He placed he order and waited for it to be confirmed, before placing his phone down on the side. "Alright kiddo, it's on the way. What say we unpack a few things?" She nodded in acceptance, it wasn't like she had anything better to do.

Before long, they were say in the centre of what would soon be their living room, opening up boxes. Laura was of course the designated box opener, cutting through the cello-tape with her sharp blades. He had one strict rule for when they were out in public, and that was to hide her claws at all times. As far as the general public knew, Mutants were nigh-extinct, and even the ones that were still alive were hiding themselves away from the rest of the world. Daniel had no problem with her popping her claws when it was just the two of them alone, or in an extreme case, self defence, but he absolutely restricted the usage of them outside of the house or in public, or practically anywhere where someone might see them.

He watched as the girl cut into her box and sheathed her blades, opening up the container and just as he suspected, it contained a number of her toys and her little pink fluffy unicorn. She seemed to momentarily forget he was watching as she plucked it out of the box and hugged it tightly to her chest. However, this ignorance was short lived as she glanced him grinning like a Cheshire Cat. Clearly embarrassed, she took the toy and placed it on the floor behind her, out of his sight. "Don't Mind me if you wanna play with your dolls" he said to her. She turned her head to glare at him, he could see the anger bubbling up inside of her. "Hey relax now, it was just a joke."

He saw her unclench her fists as she realised she was letting her temper take over again. He really didn't want her to break anything on their first night here. "Look, there's some sleeping bags in that box over there, why don't you take yours out and roll it out in your room ok? I'll call you down when the Pizzas here." She smiled at him, nodded, and obediently grabbed the smaller sleeping bag from the box where he was pointing. He didn't watch her as she trudged up the stairs in her boots, but instead continued unpacking. He took out old photographs of his time in the Army, and a plaque with several of his medals on. He'd made Captain before leaving in 2025, settling for a life on the road. He'd considered working for a private company before he'd found the Sanctuary up in Canada a few years later.

Daniel pulled out some books as well, some of them belonging to Laura, most of them his. He found the dusty old Spanish translation book he'd bought when considering going to classes so she could freely speak in her native language whenever she was around him, but in the end, their complicated situation had forced him not to attend. As he was pulling out a small locked container which he knew contained his 9MM, he heard a knock at the door. Pizza was here.

Opening the door, he saw a young man stood on the other side with two boxes in his hand. "Evening sir, one pepperoni and one plain cheese, ready and..." Daniel knew this was part of his job to dish out pleasantries, so he cut in "Yeah yeah, how much do I owe you, kid?" The pizza boy stopped, and then gave the amount. Daniel dipped into his wallet and handed him the bills plus a little extra for tip, before taking the two pizza boxes from him. He closed the door as the kid walked away, calling upstairs.

"Hey kid! Pizza's here!" His voice echoed up the wooden steps. He heard slow footsteps unenthusiastically pace down the stairs as he opened the boxes and found two dishes from their clutter. "Get it while it's hot" he happily said to her. She didn't seem all that fussed. "Gracias" she uttered her thank you in Spanish, something that was obvious to him since everyone should know how to say 'thank you' in Spanish.

They didn't even have anywhere to actually sit yet, and so they were now sat cross legged on the floor, pizza boxes open and plates in their hands. Daniel had taken out two cans of soda from the package he'd brought with him in the car, and so that had served as their drink for the evening meal. Daniel checked his phone E-Mails absentmindedly while Laura silently chewed on her pizza. He was the first to break the silence "Hey Listen, you know I went ahead and got you enrolled in the local school here, so you'll be starting Monday. Maybe you can make some new friends, hang out with em?" He suggested to her. Her only response was to stare at him while chewing.

"I mean, friends who you ain't gonna rip to pieces at the slightest provocation, you know?" He laughed at his own joke, and Laura couldn't help but laugh along with him. "So tomorrow I hope you're gonna get all your books in order 'cause you're gonna need it, no more slouching around." His tone was both serious and jovial.

Laura swallowed her bite of pizza "You mean like you do seventy percent of the time?" Her Latin American accent dripped with sarcasm. He chuckled "yeah, exactly like me, you got it" Laura smiled and they continued to silently chew on their food.

It was a little over half an hour later that Daniel had ditched the dishes in the sink and left the empty pizza boxes discarded on the counter by the back door. He cleaned his hands and picked up his phone, before looking back out into the area that would become the living room. A lot of boxes were left unopened, and the few that were had been abandoned when the food arrived. They'd finish it all tomorrow he decided, when the movers had dropped off all of their stuff. He looked at his phone, 9:05 PM. Laura had gone upstairs a short while ago, and was no doubt lay on her bed with her Music player blaring some pop song down her ears.

Tired, he decided to take his sleeping bag up to his room and retire for the evening. He switched off the kitchen light, before heading over to the box that contained the sleeping bags. He picked his out, and then checked to make sure that the front door was locked, it was. He calmly made his way up the wooden staircase, deciding that upon reaching the top, he'd check on the girl before going to sleep.

Daniel approached the top step, and noticed that both bedroom lights were in fact switched off. He could however see a dim light glowing from one of the rooms. He turned on the hall light, and placed his bag on the floor and his phone in his jeans pocket. Carefully and gently, he slowly opened the door of the room she had picked out for herself, and the sight he saw made him smile.

Laura was in fact fast asleep, with only one earbud stuck in her right ear. She snored quietly and peacefully, curled up in a ball on top of her sleeping bag like some little animal. He saw her stir, and moan slightly. He could tell she was dreaming. As slowly as he could, he crept over to her sleeping form and knelt down beside her. He gently took the earbud out of her ear and pressed the power button on her music player to instantly shut the damn thing off. Thankfully, she didn't wake up. She didn't even move. Daniel watched her sleep for another minute. He knew that deep down, beneath her strong exterior, she harboured pain from a lifetime of experimentation, of not being treated like a child but rather as a weapon. And now that she was free, she deserved all the rest she could get.

"G'night kiddo" he whispered to her, before standing up and gently walking out of the room. He pulled her door closed until it was ajar, and then picked up His sleeping bag. He made his way down to his room and turned off the hall light, switching his bedroom light on to see before him a rather spacious room, just big enough for his double bed. Sighing, he pulled the sleeping bag out of its carrying bag, and unrolled it on the floor in front of him by the window.

Daniel switched off the light, using his phone to find his way in the dark. He lay down and, removing his shoes, climbed into the sleeping bag. He set his alarm for Six AM the next morning, before placing it on silent. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head found comfort, drifting away into a dreamless slumber. Daniel didn't dream anymore, he never dreamed. Hadn't done so for around a year. Because Dreams are merely fictional, false experiences inspired by reality and created in our minds to be nearly forgotten when we awake.

But memories are not fake. Memories are real events come to pass. And so to the end, he didn't dream, but he did indeed remember.


	2. Chapter Two: Memories & Movers

**One Year and six months ago**

Laura struggled to keep up with the others. She was physically small and so therefore she had trouble keeping pace. Funny for a girl who could become a star athlete at blink of an eye when she wanted to. Rictor paced quickly at the front of the group, while Rebecca was closest to her at the rear. She was quiet as she slowly trudged along through the long grass.

Rebecca allowed herself to fall behind in order to chat with her friend. "Are you okay? You're very quiet" Laura wanted to angrily list off every reason why she was not okay, as she felt the hurt and anger rising inside of her like a rush of blood. But of course, she restrained herself, and answered simply with "I'm fine".

She was however not fine at all. A mere few hours ago, Her biological father was killed right in front of her, and she was forced to bury him. Before that she was forced to help her father bury Charles, one of only two men who had ever shown her kindness. Charles was a loving man, he treated her with almost grandfatherly understanding, and she had failed to protect him when he needed her.

With both of them now gone, what was probably the last of the X-Men were gone too. The very memory of them had disappeared as if it had all meant nothing.

And then of course there was Gabriella. Gabriella the Nurse who had told her the stories of the X-Men and all that they did to protect Humanity. She told her of the Wolverine, the man from which her Mutant power stemmed. She had been kind to her, saved her from the lab from which she was raised. And for that, she had payed the price.

Every adult in her life that she cared about was now dead, and she was left only with her friends and fellow Mutants for company. "This is it!" She heard a voice yell from the front of the group. Everyone stopped in response to the sudden voice. "This is what?" Someone else asked.

Laura saw Rictor appear at the front. He looked at everyone, and then pointed behind him "just past these trees is Canada. When we walk about fifteen more feet, we'll have left the United States" Laura noticed only then that he had what appeared to be a map in his right hand, similar to the one that she had in her own bag. "When we cross over, we should be safe. Think yourselves proud guys, we've made it from Mexico all the way here"

Laura looked at the trees and the mountains beyond which seemed so near, so close now. A few more steps and they'd be in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Canada, her father's homeland.

—

 **The Present Time**

"Hey kid, wakey wakey, time to get up"

It was nearly Eleven AM when Daniel finally tried to get a rise out of the Little Mutant girl.

Laura fluttered her eyes as she felt a hand gently resting on her shoulder, slightly shaking it. She briefly winked her eyes open and saw Daniel crouching next to her. "C'mon kid, up" he repeated. Her only response was to close her eyes again with an annoyed moan.

Daniel sighed, "alright then, guess your little friend here will have to come and help with the movers instead" he made a reach for her little pink unicorn that she was lay next to, but when he grabbed it, an intense tug of war ensued as she tried to get it back.

"Kid, c'mon now, get up before we rip his head off" the unicorn was being stretched to his very limit. "Five minutes!" He could see he was getting nowhere, so he let go of the toy. "Five minutes, then I'm coming back" Laura stuck her tongue out in response and lay her head back down again.

Daniel made it outside and watched from the front lawn as the moving van unloaded it's haul. The ramp descended with a grouping of large boxes, and he observed two of the movers helping each other move said boxes. "Need a band, fellas?" He called out. One of them looked up briefly but waved him off "don't worry pal, it's our job, we got it" Daniel nodded slightly, but then an older man caught his attention off to the right, struggling to shift an armchair closer to the house for future moving.

"Here buddy, let me help you with that" he insisted, grasping his hands around one side of the chair. "Eh, yeah sure" he didn't really feel like arguing. "On three we lift, one, two, three" and lift they did. The chair was heavy, but he'd done this numerous times before. Their previous armchair had been heavier, and he wasn't sad to see it go. Laura had gotten a little bit angry when he had tried to assert his authority against her, stating that no, she could not have the tub of ice cream before dinner.

Two minutes and one disembowelled armchair later, she still didn't have her ice cream.

"Just ditch it down here, by the door" Daniel motioned at the tiny concrete porch just in front of the front window. They placed it down gently more or less where he said they would. "Your kid still sleeping?" He asked. Daniel was cautious for a moment, but relented. "Yeah, she uh, wanted five more minutes. Half this crap is hers so she should be out here helping" Daniel cracked his fingers.

"How old is she? Your daughter?"

Daniel wanted to say she wasn't his daughter, but he had to keep up appearances. And besides, the way they treated each other she might as well be. "Thirteen. Well, nearly thirteen. Birthday is soon" the guy nodded in understanding. "My girl is nineteen now, and let me tell you, when it comes to sass it's only gonna get worse, my friend" the man seemed to be joking, but deep down Daniel knew he was being serious. Teenage girls could be a nightmare to manage alone. And this one would be a real horror show.

"So if you don't mind me asking, where's her mother?" Now if Laura was indeed his daughter, he would've indeed minded. That kind of thing could be and would personal to him, as Daniel took these things seriously when it came to family matters. But Laura wasn't his blood relative, so he cooked up some bullshit and he did it quite fast.

"Bitch ran off with some guy from LA. Apparently he owns a mansion, four Lamborghinis and a seventy foot sun-seeker" he lied. It must have been a convincing story because the guy seemed to buy it. "Damn, and she just left the two of you alone?"

Daniel smirked "When it comes to guys with more money and a little dick, it ain't hard for some women to be tempted. She was from Tijuana, guess she saw a better life. But what better life can you ask for when you have kids?"

The older guy shook his head at his convincing fantasy "amen to that, brother"

At least only one part of that big, made up story was true: Laura's Mom was Mexican just like her daughter.

Meanwhile, said daughter was currently upstairs, staring out of Daniel's bedroom window. Her window faced the neighbour's house, so she had no choice. She watched as he conversed with one of the movers, an older man who appeared to be in his late forties. She saw him shaking his head and saying something that looked like it began with the letter B.

'Brochure?' Thought Laura, unsure of what he said.

She decided now was as good as time as any to get dressed and ready to help. She left Daniel's room and crossed the hallway into the bathroom. It was small, with the space from the wall to the bathtub as big as her, maybe smaller she wondered, if she were to lay on the floor and rest it out. She reached into the tub and turned the knob to make the water spurt from the tap. Then, she pulled on the...thing, she had forgotten the name, to make the water go from the tap to the shower head.

She got what she wanted as the droplets began to fall, holding out a hand to feel cold water. She'd have to wait until the boiler kicked in before she placed the plug into the tub. Laura pulled off her clothes, she hadn't bothered to get undressed the night before, and sat patiently waiting for the water to steam up. She found a towel from one of the bags in the hallway outside the bathroom, before finally closing the door and locked it. When the water was nice and steamy, she reached over and put the plug into the plug hole. The water stopped trickling away.

Bracing herself for a cascade of hot water, she climbed into the tub. Pulling the shower curtain across, she sat down in the slowly forming pool of water. She leaned her head against the tiled wall, allowing the water to soak her head of hair, and roll down over her eyes. She felt it trickle down her skin and leave little streaks and droplets behind.

She pressed her arms over her knees as she curled up, allowing herself a moment of bliss under the warm downpour. She hadn't had a shower in nearly twenty four hours, and she felt rather filthy. Still, at least she wasn't tired anymore. A good night's sleep and the heat of the shower had removed that feeling from her.

The water was now above her feet and creeping it's way up her lower body, her shins now half submerged. She smiled at the feeling, but she also felt another less comfortable feeling. Leaning her head back from under the shower, she opened her eyes, and observed her knuckles. She felt irritation under the skin, between her fingers. Like an itch you can't scratch, or a rash that just won't go away. Laura knew what this sensation was however, it was all too familiar. She needed to pop her claws, the metal blades were irritating her flesh again.

Seeing no reason not to, she willed her body and sure enough, her claws came out. Unsheathing themselves, Laura felt a slight spike of pain as the two metal blades on her left hand pierced the skin between her knuckles. This pain was quickly replaced by relief as she felt the irritation disappear, with her claws now exposed to the air and the water that fell from above.

Holding them up slightly, she observed the water as it trickled down the blades, making a very gentle pattering sound as it made impact with the metal. She also noticed a small amount of blood oozing from her knuckles as the fresh wounds refused to heal while her claws were out.

She watched as the blood trickled down her hand, like a river of red ink, making blood clouds in the bath water that would tempt a small shark. Glancing at her other hand, she decided to unsheathe the claws on her right. They made their sharpness known as they came out, and they too were soon soaked in a water that made them glisten.

Laura studied her claws with great interest, never really looking at them with this much detail. Two on each hand, four claws total, like a lioness Charles had said so long ago. And speaking of which, Laura sheathed her two claws and lay back in the tub, now submerged up to her shoulders in hot, steamy water.

Lifting her left foot out of the water, she popped the single, defensive claw from the front of her foot. Looking at it, she noticed how much it looked like a potato peeler, and she couldn't help but giggle at the thought.

The movers had nearly brought everything out of the truck by the time Laura made it downstairs. Her hair was still slightly wet, and she was attempting to dry it with the towel she had obtained. She was dressed in brown cargo shorts and a white T-Shirt. She hadn't put any socks on yet.

"Hey kid, you're up. You wanna get some breakfast then come help out?" Daniel asked her. Her only response was to nod gently. Laura made her way into the kitchen where she found Daniel had left plenty of cereal on the counter. She decided upon an unopened box of pop tarts, seeing as she couldn't find any milk to go with the cereal. After putting the pop tart into the toaster (which she had to hook up herself) she went over to where Daniel was standing by the door and patted him on the waist. He turned to face her.

"Yeah?"

"We have no milk"

Daniel mentally slapped himself. Of course they didn't, they hadn't been to the store yet. "Shit, ok we'll go later and get some stuff" Laura nodded, turning to go back to the kitchen. She patiently waited another couple of minutes, until the pop tart came popping out. She grabbed the treat and a plate and began to dig in.

Her tastebuds exploded when she felt the creamy strawberry interior touch her tastebuds. She was happy they stopped numerous times on the way here from Arizona, picking up that box. She savoured the taste as much as she could but before long, the pop tart was gone.

For the next hour, Laura helped Daniel move boxes and furniture into their new home. It was pretty cluttered at first, but that didn't last long. They decided to get Laura's room set up first, moving small items in such as her dresser and her bedside table. For the time being, she placed her music player and stuffed unicorn on it, waiting for the bed to be assembled.

"You look after your daddy now, alright kid?" The older moving man said to Laura, who held a large box in her two hands. She smiled at him as he climbed back into the cab as his friend closed the back of the truck. As his friend got into the driver side door, he waved at the two of them. Only Laura waved back enthusiastically, Daniel merely threw a hand up on farewell. They turned the key in the ignition and soon enough the truck rumbled down the road and out of sight. Daniel shoved his hands into his pockets, and raised his eyebrows.

"Come on, let's get the rest of this shit sorted out and then we'll head to the store" he said, moving back inside to observe the junk now piled in the living room.

—

 **Hillridge Town Center**

Jason pushed his bike into the bike rack outside the grocery store. At the same time, he reached into his backpack to retrieve the cord to lock said bike on to the rack. Placing the key into his pocket, he headed around to the automatic doors of the store. He glanced the sign above the doors, 'Wilson's Groceries' and thought back to all the previous times he had laid eyes on it.

Nearly every day Jason had stopped off here on his way home from school, but today was Sunday. Today he had been to his friend Alex's house. His mom was the Assistant Manager, and he usually stopped by to see her and possibly buy a Twinkie or two. Today the store would only be open for a few hours, being the weekend. He headed inside and was greeted by the cooling breeze of the overhead fan. Jennifer, the middle aged woman on the cashier's desk, saw Jason come through the door. It was a very slow day, there weren't a lot of people around. Rather odd, considering the day of the week.

"Hey honey, your mom is just in her office. You need anything else sweetheart?" Jennifer was always kind with Jason. He smiled at her. "No thanks, I'll just go see her."

Jason made his way to the back of the store, where the staff room and offices were. He passed by the cashier's desk and made his way down Aisle two. The store really was empty today. Reaching the back of the building, and the door marked 'Assistant Manager' where he rapped on the wood gently. "Come in" he heard the familiar voice on the other side say. Jason opened the door and saw his mother sitting there staring at a computer monitor. "Can I he-oh hey sweetie" she said, as she looked up at her young son, after momentarily assuming him to be someone else.

Jason Ferguson was twelve years old. He was short for someone of his age, and he had light brown hair and his father's blue eyes. He had a dimple when he smiled. "Hey Mom. How you doing?" He asked her.

"I'm fine thanks, how was your day at Alex's house?"

"We went to the park for a little while, he had a new drone he wanted to play with" Jason momentarily flashed back to him and his friend stood by the pond, remote control Alex's hand. Above them hovered the latest toy on the market, an Airswift Recording Drone, with a camera capable of 4K recording. Alex had shown him how to use it and let him have a play.

"Didn't think kids went outside anymore, with all these new videogames" his mother snarked, her deadpan personality not faltered by her time focusing on work. "There's more to life than VR and stuff mom" Jason snarked right back at her.

"So listen, Alex asked if I could go to the cinema with him tonight, to watch that new horror movie everyone is talking about?"

His mother furrowed her black eyebrows "Uh-huh, and what time does it finish?" Jason considered lying "it begins at eight, it's two hours long"

He could see it coming before she had even said anything: "No"

"But mom..." he began, but he didn't get to finish

"No buts, it's a school night Jason, so no. No is my final answer. And you can tell your friends my reasoning why as well. Staying up that late at your age is...wait, how where you even going to get in?"

"Alex's brother Steve is going, he was gonna buy us all of the tickets" he explained.

"Well, tell him that it's one less ticket to worry about" Jason knew there was no arguing with her. Her decision was final. And it pissed him off. "Now head on home, warm up the oven. I won't be long, I'll make a chicken casserole tonight. Sound good?" She asked. Jason nodded his head solemnly "yes, mom" his mother smiled at him, a big toothy smile. "Go on now, I'll see you at home sweetheart" and feeling defeated, Jason sighed and turned to leave the room. "Bye mom."

Jason closed the door behind him as he stepped outside. He groaned as he held his head back in annoyance. "Why god, why?" He asked whoever he thought was listening. Jason didn't like being bossed around, but he had no choice. His mother's word was always law in their house. Still not watching what he was doing, he took a few steps forward as he put his head down to face ahead. That's when he heard her voice.

"Watch it!" The voice yelled, and suddenly he found himself colliding with someone of similar size to him. His own fault, that he didn't even noticed the blue jacket over a white T-shirt standing in front of him. She dropped everything that she was holding upon impact, including a carton of eggs. They hit the floor and shattered in the box as it fell open. "CABRÓN!" She yelled, and if was head that Jason got his first real look at the girl in front of him.

The first thing he noticed was that she was very pretty, with brunette hair and eyes, and that said eyes were now filled with a murderous rage. She grit her teeth as she glanced down at the mess on the floor, and back up at Jason. "¿Por qué no miráis dónde vas a partir de ahora, idiota?" She yelled at him in Spanish, her native language. "Irrumpir en niñas así?" She yelled once more, but Jason had not one clue what she saying. So he did the only thing he could think of, and apologised, in English

"Erm, Sorry?" Was it supposed to sound like a question? Laura scowled at him, but then nodded, and began to try and pick up her things. "Laura? Laura!" Jason heard a voice yell, possibly her father

Jason saw a large man in his thirties come around the corner and grab her by the arm "Come on kid, spaghetti's this way" he told her. Still glaring at him, Laura allowed herself to be taken away. Daniel looked back at the boy and gave him a small wave. Jason decided to just move on from it, and as he made his way to the doors again, he moved past the Cashier's Desk, where he momentarily spoke to Jennifer "Hey Jen, sorry but you'll need to get someone to cleanup on Aisle two by the offices" he joked. Jennifer could only laugh in her jovial manner "Alright honey, we'll get on that."

Jason unhooked his bike from the rack before boarding it to take off. Unaware that he was being watched from the store windows by a very curious girl. Although however, it was more of a glare than anything else.

Laura sighed to herself and muttered to herself under her breath: "Estúpido."

—

 **Author's Note: So yes, glad to see some people have read my work. And glad someone seems to be enjoying it. Yes, this work will be multi-chaptered and focus on usually every day hardships. Ending seems a little rushed because I was literally falling asleep. Sorry I took a while, been busy, but I'll have the next one up soon. Trigger warning: mild racism in the next chapter.**


	3. Chapter Three: Meatballs & Meatheads

**Yeah ok, so I lied. Three months isn't really soon. But this chapter is considerably longer, and be warned, mild racism ahead. I've been excruciatingly busy starting a new job and everything, so I hope it pays off. Enjoy.**

—

"So, you know tomorrow is the first day of School right? You know what that means"

Laura tried to pretend that she wasn't paying attention. She stabbed at her spaghetti and meatballs with her fork, not even looking at Daniel.

"It means you go to bed early tonight, got to be up and ready tomorrow. Best to get your stuff together, like your pencils and your notebook, you hear?"

Laura did, but she didn't say anything. She hated it when people told her what to do. Daniel munched on his food as he observed the little brunette do the same, but averting all eye contact. He blinked once, and swallowed his food.

"You forget how to speak all of a sudden, kid?"

Laura looked up from her food in what was probably the first time in minutes. She had her usual 'back off' glare on, but Daniel wasn't deterred. "Something you wanna' talk about?" He asked.

Laura frowned even further, but conceded "School...tomorrow" Daniel got the message loud and clear.

"You're afraid it'll go badly?" He asked her. Laura only closed her eyes and nodded in response. Daniel smiled slightly at her.

"Listen, don't worry. You know the rules right? So long as you stick to em' there won't be any problems" he sounded so sure of himself.

"And what if I'm not the one causing the problems?"

"Well then, you take it on the chin. They can't do anything to you that's worse than what you can do to them, and for that you need to keep your mood in check. Can't go dicing up kids just because they look at you funny."

Laura couldn't help but giggle. He was right, she was always the most dangerous person in the room. She never really understood why she was so nervous when it came to starting a new school. Three, in the past year.

"How're your meatballs?"

"Fine, thank you"

Daniel didn't say anything for another few minutes. He didn't want to make her feel like he was pressuring her to talk. "Hey uh, that kid today. What exactly happened, I never asked" Laura glanced up and shook her head gently "idiot wasn't watching where he was going. Walked right into me" she had disdain in her voice and Daniel noticed it.

"So wait, he walked into you, and you didn't cut him up like Japanese Sushi?"

"I'm not going to 'cut someone up' just because they walk into me"

Daniel rolled his eyes "I was joking kid"

"Oh"

He couldn't help but chuckle at the innocence and naivety that she displayed, typical of any child her age. He watched as she continued to slurp up her spaghetti, loudly as well. The things she did would often make him laugh. "Maybe he'll be in your class, you could try making some new friends here"

"There isn't much point if we won't be here long, you know we'll be moving again soon" her tone began to become more irritated.

"Right, and who's fault was it that we've had to move this many times in the first place?"

"Well who's fault is it that we're stuck together? We both know that you don't enjoy doing this shit, but you volunteered for it"

Daniel didn't like the tone that she was currently using

"Hey, I'm not the one with blades in my knuckles and a temper problem. Maybe if you were normal, I wouldn't have had to volunteer in the first place. God knows I only did it for Erik's sake!"

And that did it

"Normal?! You mean if I were one of you pieces of shit who judge us because we are different?"

"Listen kid, cut this attitude right now"

"No! Fuck you! You have no idea what it is like to be treated like a freak!"

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to all of a sudden?"

"Why should it matter? You're not my father! You're just another soldier following his orders!" Laura slammed her palm on the table.

Daniel put his fork down and pinched the bridge of his nose, sitting back in his seat.

"You're right, I'm not your father. Your father's dead, but I don't need to remind you of that do I? Because you buried him. And if we're not more careful, that's exactly what's gonna happen to me"

Daniel thought he was actually getting somewhere for a moment, as she seemed to realise the errors of her ways. But Daniel had always been terrible at reading this girl's facial expressions, so what she said next caught him completely off guard.

"Maybe I want that to happen, then I can do as I please without you around to stop me."

Daniel didn't say anything for about ten seconds. He couldn't find the words, instead all he could do was stare at the venomous little brat in front of him. Then he pointed to the other side of the room.

"Get the fuck upstairs to your room and go to bed. Right Goddamn now."

Daniel expected at least a small amount of protest from her, but instead all he was treated to was her face falling into despair, as she seemed to realise the severity of what she had just said. "I ain't gonna' tell you two times." Laura looked down slightly at her food, before calmly placing her fork onto her plate and getting up and walking to the staircase.

Daniel closed his eyes, and placed his face in his palms as he leant his elbows onto the table. Living with this girl was Hell, there was no doubt about that.

But this was his mission now and it needed to be fulfilled.

—

Laura was upstairs in her freshly furnished bedroom. She lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling, along with her unicorn under her arm. She was mulling over the conversation she had with Daniel half an hour ago, and how she had basically insulted him by stating how she wished that he was dead. She didn't know where it had come from or what had possessed her to say it, only that it had been in the heat of the moment.

Her bedroom wasn't fully furnished yet, they still had to add a few things to the room, but now she was certain that Daniel hated her with all of his heart. She glanced at the side of her bed, onto the bedside cabinet where her light shone brightly, and the small story book underneath it, 'The Pet Goat.' It was one of her favourites. Despite Daniel telling her it was for a slightly younger audience, she loved it nonetheless, having been robbed of a childhood by the bastards at Alkali-Transigen. She never even knew her birth mother. And now, she wanted to catch up on everything that she had missed growing up, by basically being a child.

Daniel would never read that book to her now. She began to feel sad, which was a rare thing for her. She never allowed her sensitive side to show through unless certain occasions arose. She masked it all with the fiery temper that she possessed.

She held her Unicorn close, squeezing it tight to her chest. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she rolled onto her side in her blue pyjamas, trying to suppress them by closing her eyelids. It didn't work.

'Why did I have to be such a bitch?' She wondered to herself. She knew everything that Daniel had done in the past that had seemed unfair, he did it for her benefit. He cared about her, and she had been nothing but ungrateful to him. And now she feared that he hated her.

Laura didn't hear his boots coming up the stairs, she was too busy drowning in her own thoughts. It wasn't until he had pushed her door open and allowed the light to stream in that she knew he was there. And even then, she didn't turn to look at him. She didn't want to see the disdain in his eyes. She heard him move closer and closer to the bed, before surprisingly, she felt him sit down on the bed behind her. Then she finally turned to look at him, and she didn't see disdain in his eyes as she had feared she would see.

Instead, his eyes were calm and understanding. There was no hatred to be seen on his face, only that of concern "You alright?"

Laura didn't say anything at first, she merely had a worried look on her face. She turned back over to face away from him before she spoke.

"Do you hate me?"

Daniel frowned, and then he sighed "no kid, I don't hate you. But I'd appreciate it if you didn't say shit like that in future ok?"

Laura nodded gently from where she was lay on her side.

"Remember when we talked about how there's certain things you can't say to people as that may hurt their feelings? Well, what you said kinda' hurt I must admit."

"I'm sorry" she said.

"Look me in the eyes so I know you ain't lying"

Laura slowly turned onto her back and propped herself up on her elbows, her steely frown piercing into Daniel's own.

"I'm sorry" she repeated.

Daniel smiled. "Good. Maybe we can start fresh then" Laura nodded, but was suddenly distracted by the man's finger as he took it and pointed it at her chest.

"What's that right there?"

Laura naïvely looked down at the spot on her pyjamas that he was pointing at. When she had her entire head tilted down to look, he suddenly shot his finger up and flicked her nose. In her shock and surprise, Laura lifted her head back so hard it hit the headboard.

"Oh damn, are you alright?" She nodded as she held the back of her head with one hand, scowling at the man and the smug look on his face.

"Gotcha' again" he laughed.

Laura only felt a brief pang of anger at Daniel and his shit eating grin. It was her own fault, she fell for the same stupid trick every time and he got so many laughs out of it. She knew it was all in good fun, but it still pissed her off a little bit. Someday, she would get him back.

"I'm counting the days 'til you don't end up falling for that trick little missy"

"I looked on purpose" she said, attempting to bullshit.

"Yeah, yeah of course you did. Now come on, sleep time. You still need to be punished, so it's bed time earlier than early tonight. Come on now."

Laura groaned and rolled her eyes at this, but maybe she could make it work. She pointed to her book on the bedside table. "Read me a story?" She asked with the most innocent of faces.

"Sorry kid, but that's a no. You're 'gonna learn, and if you behave on your first day tomorrow, I'll read to you tomorrow night, alright?"

Laura huffed, but ultimately gave in and nodded her head.

"Alright, now get under the covers."

Laura pulled up her sheets and slithered underneath them. She pulled her cuddly toy close. "Now you get some sleep, if you need anything in the night, you know where I am."

She nodded once more and lay her head on the pillow. Daniel stepped away from the bed and turned off the lamp as he went, before heading over to the bedroom door. "Sweet dreams kid" he whispered before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

—

Laura looked down at his eyes, the rage seething inside of her. She felt the cold metal of her Adamantium claws protruding from her knuckles, as she pressed her fist against his chest. His face was a contorted mixture of pain and sorrow, as she forced the blades deeper into his chest cavity. Her anger was red hot and burning like a coal fire, and finally she removed the blades, which were now coated in thick, red blood. Her teeth were grit as she stared into the eyes of the man she had just murdered, the blood spewing from his mouth and the two wounds on his chest.

Tears streaked down his cheeks, as Laura took a deep breath and shrieked into his face. Tears equally built up inside of her own eyes, as she retracted her blades, watching as the life faded from Daniel's face. He fell limp, and without any further heart beat, his corpse fell and collapsed into a heap. Laura shrieked again.

When she jumped awake, the room was incredibly dark. She noticed that she was inches away from falling off the bed, her stuffed toy already having fallen. Noticing how much sweat she was covered in, she threw off the sheet and reached for her Unicorn. Clutching it tight, she stood up from her bed and made her way over to the window. The room was quite warm to her now, and so she unlocked the window and opened it up, allowing the cold night air to seep it's way inside.

Laura hated her nightmares, most often they involved murdering someone that she held dear. Usually, it was somebody who she knew to be already dead, such as Charles or her father. But tonight was a rare one.

She knew that the nightmare of her brutally stabbing Daniel to death was most likely brought on by their falling out earlier that evening, with her subconscious venting her frustrations by showing her what it thought she wanted to do.

Clearly that part of her mind didn't compute with the rest of her brain. Laura felt anger toward him, but it didn't last long. And she certainly didn't feel like murdering the closest thing she had to a family now.

Returning to her bed, Laura climbed onto the mattress and read her little clock, showing her that it was currently 2:33 AM. Still feeling warm, she left the sheet off and lay back down, resting her head upon the pillow. In a few hours, she'd be getting up for her first day of school in this new town. She only hoped that she could control her anger, and more to point, contain it so as to avoid exposing herself.

Laura closed her eyes again and tried to go to sleep, listening to the sounds of the night air and the occasional car passing by outside. She prayed that the nightmares didn't come once more.

—

The pedals of the bike squeaked as Jason and his friend Alex, on his own bike, made their way to school the very next morning. There weren't many people up and on the road at this time of the day, so they had free reign over the roads.

"Shame you didn't come last night man, there was this one scene, this girl gets stabbed like seventeen times, blood everywhere" Alex called to him.

"You forgot to say spoiler alert"

"Shit, Sorry. But really, was a shame. You'd have loved it, David started crying at one part, he was so scared"

Jason still held resentment for being unable to go see the film the night before, but he'd see it sooner or later. He could just illegally stream it online when someone put a decent copy up there. "Hey did you hear about William Burke?" Alex asked his friend.

"No, what about him?"

"He's coming back in today, his suspension is up" Jason didn't like the sound of that. William Burke was and a total prick. He bullied the weaker kids at school to no end, and he didn't discriminate. Girls got it just as bad as the boys. "Are you serious? It's been two weeks already?" Burke had been suspended after breaking a kids teeth in chemistry class after he called him a fatass, which in fairness he was, but he was also strong, going to the local gym every week. He had absolutely no problem in shattering Reggie Wilson's incisors.

"I'm afraid so man. Probably best you take lunch by the bleachers today, you know how he is."

Jason had no argument with that, he'd had his fair share of run-ins with the brute of a 13 year old. Eventually, Hillridge Middle School came into view at the next turning. It was a large two story red brick building positioned on the south west side of town, just up the street from the High School his older sister attended. "Race you to the rack?" Jason asked his friend.

"Loser surrenders their desert at lunch" he replied.

Jason didn't wait, he began pedalling as fast as he could down the road. "Hey asshole, where was the countdown?!"

He paid no heed to his friend as he left him in the dust, he only focused on getting there first. He saw the groups of kids making their way into the school, and at the edge of the parking lot, he saw the bike rack. He was gonna win, and Alex would be forced to sacrifice whatever treats he had in his lunch box. He gunned it as fast as he could for the last stretch through the lot, dodging kids and weaving around cars as their drivers angrily honked their horns at the boy. He imagined his face right now, burning red as he pushed his leg muscles, but filled with glee as he raced toward the rack.

He decided to venture a brief look back at his friend, glancing over his shoulder. He saw Alex, way behind him and evidently about to lose the race. He grinned at his friend's frustration, and then turned back to look where he was going.

His body then collided with something hard, and his bike was sent crashing to the ground with him still on it. It was only after he had hit the ground and gathered his thoughts that he realised that he hadn't hit anything, but an asshole had ran over and pushed him. "Woah, hey there dipshit, should've been watching where you were going." Jason squinted as he looked up into the sunlight, and William Burke stood there blocking the light. "The hell was that for?"

"You're running your bitch trails all over the place, was just worried you might hurt someone. Better you than someone else get your ass trashed." The older boy replied in mock concern.

"Like you care about anyone else" muttered Jason.

"What was that fuck face? Didn't hear you." William cupped his hand to his ear, and Jason knew better than to take it further. Instead of argue and likely get his ass kicked before first period, he simply held up his thumb as he lay his head back down on the concrete sidewalk.

"I said thanks for the concern." William must've been satisfied with the answer, because he didn't do anything else before he turned and walked away. It was then that Alex finally caught up to his friend, which was funny, because it let Jason know just how far ahead he was in their race.

"Shit dude, you alright?" Jason wasn't alright, his body hurt like hell, but he didn't want to bother his pal all that much. "I'm fine, thanks. Just a little bruised."

"We should tell a teacher" suggested Alex.

"And say what? William Burke pushed me off my bike again? Not like it's gonna change anything. Besides, he'll know who snitched on him, and I've already avoided one beating today." Alex nodded and held out a hand to help dust him off. "Yeah, I guess you're right. You win anyway, you get my yoghurt this afternoon" Jason was grateful that his friend still considered this his loss, but he declined.

"You keep it, somehow I'm not in a competitive mood anymore." He patted Alex on the back "come on, let's get inside. It's English first period."

Jason picked up his bike and joined Alex in stashing it in the bike rack, before turning to head inside. Suddenly, he felt a hand tapping him on the shoulder. "Hey, who's that?" Jason turned and looked in the direction indicated. An old Jeep was pulling up outside the school, one that he'd never seen before. "I dunno, new kid maybe?"

"Think Burke will try it anything with them?" Alex already knew the answer. Burke always targeted new kids for the sole reason of sizing them up. It was how he determined which would be easy, and who would be a problem. "Possibly...come on, let's go, I don't wanna be late"

Meanwhile, as Jason and Alex made their way inside the building, Daniel was going over some last minute rules with Laura before he let her leave their old Wrangler. "Now remember kid, no outbursts, no fighting and try to make some friends ok? And don't worry if you feel they don't like you. If you've done nothin' but try and be friendly, then they're the assholes." Laura smiled and nodded.

"Now, you got your stuff? Got your lunch?" Laura patted her backpack, and a solid thumping came from within, indicating the box was inside.

"Si"

"Good girl, now I'll be back to pick you up about three fifteen, okay?" Laura turned and began to open the car door, but Daniel suddenly grabbed her wrist "Hey, and remember, what's the golden rule?"

"No claws?"

"That's it, no claws. Remember, we're trying to be normal here. Now get going, I'll see you later" and with a playful fist bump, she opened the door and jumped out, slamming it shut behind her. Daniel was relieved that she didn't shatter the window with her strength. He watched as she walked up the stone steps and into the building, along with dozens of other kids. Daniel sighed and put the car in gear, and he prayed internally that everything went well today.

—

Everyone settled down in first period English as the bell rang out, signalling that school was now officially in session. Jason and Alex had seats firmly positioned at the front of the class, while Burke sat in the seat behind them to the right side of the room. He didn't say anything as he tapped on his phone. Jason waited for the teacher, Miss Carswell, to address the class for morning registration. He felt a nudge on his left elbow. "Hey man, back there, it's the new kid" he whispered. Jason turned his head and sure enough, there she was, a girl neither of them had seen before.

Except that wasn't entirely true, as he soon realised. "Hey that's the girl I bumped into at the store yesterday. She's Mexican or something, spoke a load of shit in Spanish."

Alex looked on in interest at the new girl, who sat with her arms crossed and her gaze directed out of the window. She chewed on the string of her Hoodie absentmindedly. "What did you guys talk about?"

Jason remembered the previous day when he had collided with her. "Nothing really, she got angry with me because I caused her to break her eggs, and then she ranted on at me in Spanish. I don't even know if she speaks English."

"Well if she wants to learn it, I guess she's in the right place." Both boys chuckled, but quickly looked away to face the front when she suddenly turned her head to catch them staring at her. She'd obviously felt eyes on her. Jason and Alex felt the intensity of the daggers she was currently directing at the back of their heads.

"Okay class, good morning. I trust you all had a pleasant weekend, William it's good to have you back. I hope your time off helped you learn your lesson"

"Unlikely" came a voice from the back of the room, which caused laughs all around. Burke whipped his head around looking for whoever said it, but was forced to give up when the teacher restored order.

"Enough of that class. Remember, be respectful to your fellow students. Now, as I understand..." she picked up a piece of paper off of her desk, scanning it carefully "...we have a new student joining us today as well, a miss Laura Beckett." Laura had gotten used to hearing fake surnames, she had used so many in the past year. She saw a few faces glance around the room, before they all realised where she was sitting. Now every pair of eyes in the room were looking at her. "Well would you like to come up to the front and introduce yourself sweetie?"

Laura hesitated for a moment, she hated people staring at her. It made her feel like a freak. And now everyone was staring at her. She felt the anxiety rising within her. "It's ok to be nervous, but it always makes it easier to let it out. Come on up to the front and tell us a small bit about yourself." Miss Carswell's tone was soft and reassuring, but she still felt the pressure being mounted on her. Eventually she relented and stood up from her seat, moving past all other students seated in front of her. She made her way past Jason and the boy watched with sympathy at her situation.

She went and stood next to the teacher, who was only around two feet taller than her. "So, tell the class a bit about yourself Laura."

Laura looked at the class with a slightly terrified look. The whole thing would be amusing to her if it wasn't so frightening, a girl who could rip everyone in the room to pieces was afraid of standing in front of them all. She glanced at the faces at the front, one whom she recognised as the boy she saw the day before, but she didn't pay much attention to him.

She released a slow and shaky breath, then closed her eyes and clenched her fists. Opening her eyes again, she observed the class, all of their blank, uninterested faces staring at her. And then she spoke.

"M-my name is Laura, and I just moved here with my father" her accent made it impossible to disguise the fact that she wasn't an American. "That's very nice sweetheart. Where are you from originally if you don't mind me asking?" The teacher asked her.

"Mexico City."

"Ah, so did you emigrate recently?"

Laura quickly took a glance about the room. "No, we came from Arizona, my father is adoptive." She tried her best to explain it.

Miss Carswell smiled at the child "Well, I'm sure you and your father will be really happy here, thank you for sharing." Laura nodded and then made for her seat, happy that she was now able to sit back down again. At least that part of her day was now over.

However, when she sat back down, she overheard some students whispering behind her.

"You ever seen a Mexican this far north?"

"My Dad said they were supposed to do something about immigration here years ago"

"How long do you think she'll be here for?"

Laura's anxiety quickly turned to anger, an anger she felt bubble in her gut and spark like a primed explosive. But she clenched her fists once more and breathed, trying her hardest to not let it get to her. She knew they simply didn't understand much about how the world works.

So she relaxed, and let them whisper away about her. No point in getting angry over a bunch of stupid kids.

Jason peered over his shoulder at the new girl, Laura, and noticed that once again, she was staring out of the window.

—

The next few hours seemed to drag by ever so slowly. Laura had Mathematics next, something she utterly sucked at, but she was thankful that none of the other teachers had decided to call her up to the front. Soon enough, lunch came around, but Laura didn't quite wish to take it in the cafeteria that day.

Instead, she went outside and found a very nice tree over by the running track. It was a very nice spot, it wasn't too out of the way, but it would prevent her from being noticed by anyone who wasn't searching for her. She munched on her sandwich, chicken with mayonnaise. She had taken her cap from out of her bag and placed it on her head, sat with her back to the solid bark of the tree trunk. The sun was out and shining today, which really enforced the idea that it was the beginning of Spring. She looked out past the track at the back of the school building, which seemed quite far away. She liked the isolation, even though Daniel had told her to try and make friends, today she'd decided she was going to be alone, just to settle in.

Meanwhile, not far away, Jason, Alex and their friend David were currently sat near the bleachers, consuming their own lunch. "Little bird told me that you cried during the movie last night David" said Jason. David's eyes went wide and then he punched Alex on the shoulder, who could only laugh. "You son of a bitch, you said you wouldn't tell anyone!" David would be lying if he said he didn't feel a bit betrayed, and also once again quite sad.

"Hey, if it's any consolation, I was more concerned about spoilers" Jason said to try and break the tension

"It was a pretty scary moment, everyone in the theatre jumped, a few others screamed like little girls" Alex was trying to cheer his friend up, but David was still in a huff. "So guys, what do you think of the new girl? Seems sort of quiet" Alex and David exchanged looks, funny interested looks, before they both looked over at Jason, who hadn't even noticed. He was still munching away on his sandwich, not a care in the world, so much so that he didn't even notice until they said anything.

"I don't know, I wasn't really looking" said Alex. Jason finally noticed that they were both staring at him with big, toothy grins. He swallowed his sandwich. "The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Seriously? I saw you looking over your shoulder at her for half of first period." Jason was beginning to see what they were thinking "Oh okay, I see how it is. Am I not allowed to check out the new kid?" He asked in defence.

"Seems to me that's exactly what you were doing" laughed Alex. Jason began to feel the embarrassment seep onto his face. "Shut up!"

"Aaaw, Jason and Laura sitting in a tree, K-I-S..ow!"

He was stopped by Jason thumping him hard on his arm.

"That's twice I've been punched in five minutes by you two bastards!"

"Maybe you should stop trying to cause a problem then!"

"So I'm not allowed to tell the truth? Admit it, you like her"

Jason was definitely not about to admit it, but he didn't really deny it either. "You want a black eye to go with that bruise on your arm?" It wasn't a legitimate threat, judging from the tone of voice Alex heard.

It was a few minutes before anyone spoke again.

"So, do either of you guys wanna come round to my house later, play with the drone again?"

"Nah, I promised my Dad I'd help with fixing the sink" said David.

"Jason, what about you?"

"I dunno man, I...Hey ain't that Burke?"

Jason directed the attention of the other boys toward the east side of the running track. He was heading past the bleachers with three of his friends.

"Where do you think they're going?" Alex asked.

"I don't know, and to be honest, I don't really want to know"

"What if he's after the new kid?" David suddenly suggested. "Then I hope she has money to get rid of him." Alex said. Jason didn't say anything, he just sighed and stood up.

"Wait, Jason, you're seriously not going over there are you? You've already had one close call with that asshole today!"

Jason just turned and smirked "If it is about the new kid, I just want to take a look, see what happens."

Meanwhile, from her spot beneath the tree, Laura suddenly heard a loud, angry voice.

"Hey Spic!"

She had heard that word directed at her before, she knew it was something not very nice. She looked over to the person who was yelling at her, and saw a large chubby boy with rather beefy arms heading in her direction. He had black hair and narrowed eyes, and a red face that didn't look friendly. He had three other boys at his back.

She looked back down at the Orange she was peeling (with her fingers) in her lap, ignoring the large boy.

"Hey, Spic! I'm talking to you! You're the new kid, right?"

Laura sighed and looked up from her orange. "sí, eso es me." She said, trying to get him to go away.

"I bet she doesn't even speak English" one of the other boys said. "Course she does you idiot, I heard her this morning. You know it's very rude to bullshit people you just met, little girl"

"es también grosero a llamar gente nombres"

"I said speak English, Spic!"

Laura glared venomously at the fat boy. "I'm busy right now, what do you want?" He grinned in a cruel manner, satisfied that he had gotten what he wanted. "Just wanted to know what you're doing all the way back here. Chuck says he saw you come this way, figured we'd see what you were up to."

"I'm eating my lunch" she stated matter of factly "do you need something or are you always this rude to new children?"

"I need your attitude to improve, stop giving me sass or else"

"Will here runs this school, you understand? You want to show him some respect?"

"I won't hesitate to kick your teeth, I don't care if you're a girl."

She felt it again, that fiery temper. This arrogant bastard was making it flare up. "If you aren't going to leave or at least be polite, then I'm going somewhere else." Laura packed her half peeled orange into her lunch box and shoved it back inside her back pack. She stood up to walk away, but she fell to the floor as a hard force pushed her over. If she had been expecting it, she wouldn't have budged. But this time, she wasn't expecting it, and so she hit the ground in pain.

"Don't try to walk away when I'm taking to you!"

Laura felt that fire within her building, as he emotions threatened to overwhelm her. She struggled to control them. "That wasn't a very nice thing to do, now let me leave or.."

"Or what you little loser? You're gonna cry?"

"Leave her alone Will" Laura heard a different voice, slightly further away. All faces turned toward it. "Ferguson, I thought I let you off easy today. Why don't you get lost."

"Can't you just let the new girl have a nice first day? Why do you have to be such a prick to everyone new who rolls through here?"

"I was just making sure she knows who's in charge around here, make sure were cool" Laura had at this point stood up and put on her back pack. "Look I'm sure she gets it now, so just leave her alone"

"Aw, you sticking up for your girlfriend, is that it?" One of Will's friends said. Laura started to make her way past the four boys, when one of them grabbed her arm. "Where do you think you're going? We ain't done talking yet! And you Ferguson, I'll get to you in a minute!" the large ape had grabbed her by the wrist. She felt the anger bubble to the surface, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't suppress it any further. And so she exploded like she was afraid she would, since she had had it with this dumb ape.

She didn't pop her claws, but she just couldn't ignore the anger inside of her any further. Instead, she punched him hard, in the stomach. She wouldn't be surprised if the metal in her knuckles had caused permanent damage. He released her hand and fell to the floor clutching his stomach, while his friends looked on in shock. "Oh shit!"

Jason could've sworn his jaw dropped. He just saw the new girl drop the school bully and a boy twice her size. He was rolling around on the floor now in agony. "Get the little Bitch!" He heard Chuck yell.

Laura steadied herself and removed her backpack, tossing it away. She noticed a boy on her left run at her with a huge, clenched fist. She expertly countered it and socked him square in the jaw. She felt his jawbone crack. She quickly turned her head to see another boy attempting to square off with her. She patiently waited.

Just as she expected, he took a swing at her with a left hook. Just as quick as the previous, boy she dodged to her right out of the way, and kicked him in the back of the leg. He fell down on one knee, and she hit him hard across the left side of his face. He fell down, apparently unconscious.

The last boy was trying to size her up, maybe look for an opening. He put his fists up in a boxing stance. Laura removed her hat and wiped her brow, always glaring at him. Then, she threw the hat straight at him, throwing off his guard. The cap fell to the floor, and when he finally got his bearings back, all he saw heading toward him was her fist. Then he saw nothing at all as he crashed to the floor backwards.

Laura now stood among the bodies of four large boys, two of which were unconscious. She felt her anger begin to dissipate, satisfied that she had taught them a lesson. Steadying her heartbeat, she reached down and picked up her cap. Dusting it off, she placed it back on her head. It was only then that she noticed that Jason was still stood there, watching her.

The boy didn't know what to say, or do. He had just watched a twelve year old girl kick the shit out of the school bully and his friends. He simply stood there, with his tongue locked up in awe, in a sort of trance. He did however notice that she was now walking toward her with murder in her eyes. Jason finally snapped out of it "No wait, please! I ain't with them, please!" He held his hands up in self defence, begging to be spared a serious beating.

Instead of the fist he was expecting, she stopped about two feet in front of him and bent over, picking up her backpack. Lifting it up, she swung it over her back and hung the strap over one shoulder. "Relajarse maniquí, I'm done here" she looked back at the bodies on the floor, then back at Jason "but thank you for trying to help, but I don't need it" She patted his shoulder as she walked past him and away from the tree.

Jason watched her leave, and then also looked back at the four meatheads now lay on the ground. Terry, the boy she had hit across the nose and decked, was regaining consciousness and had begun nursing his broken and bleeding nose. Chuck was still unconscious, the left side of his head bruised badly near the eye. He still hadn't regained consciousness.

Bobby was lay on the ground by the tree, holding his busted jaw in one hand. And William?

William was still where he was two minutes earlier, lay on the ground clutching his stomach. He tried vomiting, but nothing happened. He was obviously feeling the pain of such a powerful blow radiating throughout his body, she had truly winded him.

Jason felt a huge grin form on his face, and then he turned around and ran away with a jump in his step. He couldn't wait to tell his friends about this.


End file.
